Combined hose-reel, automatic water-discharger, and fire-alarm.



. A. A. HEIN. COMBINED HOSE REEL, AUTOMATIC WATER DISGHARGEB., AND AFIRE ALARM.

AAPPLIGATION rum; r-Bme, 1910.v 985,029. Patented Feb.21,1911.l

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

THE NoRRIs PETERS ca.. wAsHmcroN, c.

,i A. A. HEIN. l 00111311131) HOSE EBEL, AUTOMATIC WAT-ER DISGHARGER, AND FIRE ALARM..

APPLICATION v$11.211 11:11.11. 1910. 985,029.

z sums-SHEET z.

- ATTORNEYS 1HE NaRRls PETERS ca., wAsHlNoTaN, n. c.

Patent-.ed Feb.21, 1911.

FFFQF.

ADOLPI-I A. I-IEIN, OF CHARLESTON, WASHINGTON.

COMBINED HOSE-REEL, AUTOMATIC XVATER-DISCHARGER, AND FIRE-ALARM.

eaaeaa.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 8, 1919. Serial No. 542,691.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADoLrI-I A. HnIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Charleston, in the county of Kitsap and State of Washington, have :invented a Combined Hose-Reel, Automatic Vater-Discharger, and Fire-Alarm, of which the following is a specification.

My invention includes a re hose-reel and attachments so constructed and combined that, when the hose has been drawn otf the reel, a valve controlling discharge of water is automatically opened, and an alarm is also sounded automatically in one or more rooms in the building where the apparatus is located.

'lhe apparatus is simple in construction and easily operated by any unskilled person.

The details of construction and operation of the apparatus are as hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying` drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the entire apparatus. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus without the alarm. Fig. 3 is in part a side elevation and in part a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 3a is a detail section illustrating the operation of the water-discharge valve and connected mechanism. Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a section substantially on the line indicated by 5-5,'Fig. 3, and illustrating the forni and arrangement of the water passage through the reel.

The reel is formed of two parallel sides or flanges 1, a centralhub 2, and hub eXtensions 3, 3a, constituting the axis or trunnions of the reel upon which it rotates and by which it is supported in the angular brackets 4, which, in practice, are attached to a vert-ical wall, whereby the whole apparatus is supported in a hallway or other place, as usual in reels of this class.

A hose 5 is, in practice, wound on the reel, as shown in Fig. l, and provided with a nozzle 5a. In case of a lire, the nozzle is seizedand the hose drawn off the rotating reel, by which mechanism is automatically operated for allowing discharge of water through the hose and for sounding an alarm.

As shown in Fig. 4, the hub 2 of the reel is provided with a hollow offset or extension 2a,.which is curved, practically, concentrically with the hub and has at its outer end a screw-thread to provide for attachment of a hose coupling. By this construction, I avoid a sharp bend or kink in the hose and consequent impeding of the iow of water therethrough.

As shown in Fig. 5, a` pipe 6 is connected with the hollow-trunnion of the reel hub, and a stuliing-bo-X is provided at Z to prevent leakage. The said pipe 6 is connected by a valve casing 8, with a water-supply pipe 9 which is normally closed by means of a ball valve 10--see Fig. 3. The valve 10 is seated downward, and a stem 11, provided with a broad, iiat disk or head 12, bears thereon and works through a stuffing-box att-ached to the head of the T-joint 8. A spiral spring encircles the stem 11 between the head 12 and the body of the stuffing-box. rllhis is held normally under compression, or, in other words, when the valve is seated, as shown in Fig. 8, the spring is compressed, and, upon release of the pressure, the spring will raise the head 12 and with it the stem 11, thereby allowing the valve to rise from its seat and yield to the pressure of water in the supplypipe 9. It will be understood that the head or pressure of water in the latter is always suilicient to cause dischargey through the pipe 6, the reel proper, and the hose and nozzle with due rapidity.

rlhe valve-closing and -releasing mechanism will now be described. A semicircular cam 13 is keyed and clamped on one end of a transverse shaft 14 having its bearings in the brackets 4, and is normally in contact with the spring-supported head or disk 12 of the water-controlling valve 10. On the other end of said shaft 14 is keyed a ratchet wheel l-see especially Figs. 1 and 3. A hook pawl 16 is pivoted to a lever 17 which is mounted loosely and rotatably on the shaft- 14. A link 18 connects such lever 17 with an eccentric strap or lever 19, which is pivoted at 2O on a pendent arm of one of the brackets, as shown best in Fig. l. The body of the lever 19 is provided with a llarge opening adapted to receive an eccentric 21, which, as shown in Fig. 1, is mounted on the reel shaft or trunnion 3a. It will now be seen that when the hose 5 is drawn Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

i off the reel 1, the lever 19 will be'vibrated i 27oV i or oscillated on its pivot 20 by means of the eccentric 21whichY will be rotated with the reel, Aand thereby, through the medium of the link 18 and lever 17, the hook pawl will be alternately engaged with andrreleased from the ratchet wheel 15soV as torotate the latter intermittently, but always in one di` rection; and that thereby the -semicirc'ularl "cam 13 will kbe rotated intermittently in therdirection of the arrow, a's-.shown in FigQS, and iinally carried4 out of contact with the head 12 of the valve stem Y11, as indicated in Fig.l 3a, so that the valve will be released and allowfree discharge of waterfrom pipe 9 through the pipe 6, the reel hub, and the hose, las before stated.'

The mechanismv for sounding Van automatic alarm is Lconstructed as'follows. VA cylinder 22-see Figs.' 1V and B-ispendent from the horizontal portion of pipe 6 lwith .which it is connectedY Vby means of aT- Y joint. A piston 23 isi'arrange'd therein and supported by a spiral spring 24. The stem 25l of the piston projects below the lower vend of the cylinder, and, as shown in Fig.

1, is provided with a head arrangedfor conztact A,with a Apush-button 26, by which an electric circuit 27 may be closed through a series of alarms28, which, in-practice, will be located at .various selected points, preferably in the living orl sleeping rooms of the house or building" in which the apparatus Y may be located.V The stem 25 is likewise providedwith a lateral arm 25with which ya rope or wire 29 Vmay be connected for VeX- y tension to a general or special alarm. l It will whereby a Yfalse'alarm will beprevented.k

As'shown in Fig. 1 the arm ofithecam lever 19 with whichthe link 18 is connected, is

provided withaslot to allow adjustment for varying the throw of the pawllever 17, as

i i It isobviousi'that any unskilled person may be required.

may operate this apparatus by simply seizing the nozzle and drawing the hose olf the reel, whichV will result in the automatic discharge of water and the sounding of one or v more alarms, as already indicated. The hose will be made of such length as required for the particular location where the reel may be placed. It-will not be necessary in case of fire to awaken or inform persons in sleeping rooms or other portions of the building, since the'apparatus will automatically eii'ect this'without any attention or manipulation on the part of the person operating the hose. The apparatus a is particularly useful in Vhotels and lodging houses, or wherever else it is necessary to give an alarm in a series of rooms or places.

. `What I claim is 1. The combination of a rotatable reel having a hollow hub and trunnion, a hose attached to the hub and adapted to be wound thereon, a water conductor connected with the hub, a valve controlling passage of water through said conductor, a device holding the valve normally seated, an eccentric mounted on one of the reel trunnions, a pivoted lever connected with said eccentric and operated thereby, and mechanism connecting said lever with the valve holding device and consisting of a rotatable ratchet wheel, a pivoted hook pawl for engaging the same, a link connecting the pawl with the eccentric lever, a rotatable shaft on which the ratchet wheel is keyed and the pawl mounted, and a cam keyed on said shaft and coacting with the valve-holding deviceto release the same when'the hose is unwound from the reel, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a rotatable reel having a hollow hub and trunnion, a hose connected with the hub and adaptedto be wound thereon, a water conductor connected with the hollow trunnion, a valve arranged therein for normally closingthe passa e, a slidable stem' bearing on the valve and aving a head outside the conductor, a compression spring arranged between the head and Ythe adjacent portion of the conductor and tending normally to yunseat the valve, and means operatively .connecting the reel with ,the said stem and adapted, upon rotation of the reel, to' release such stem and thus permit automatic discharge of water, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a rotatable hosereel, a water conductor, and alarm mechanism connected therewith, the same consisting of a cylinder in open connection with said conductor, a slidable spring-su ported piston arranged within said cylin er and provided with` a projecting stem, and an alarm proper arranged for operation by said stem, substantially as described.`

I 4., The combination of a rotatable hosereel having a hollow trunnion and hub, a

hose connected with the latterand adapted/ to be wound thereon, a valve controlling passage of vwater in the conductor, means operatively connecting the reel with the valve whereby, upon rotation of the former,

the Valve is released, a cylinder having an open connection with `the conductor between the reel and valve, a slidable piston arranged in the cylinder and having a projecting stem adapted for operative connection With an alarm, so that, upon release of the Valve, Water has access under pressure to the aforesaid piston, whereby the alarm is 0perated automatically as specified.

ADOLPI-I A. HEIN.

Witnesses:

FRED R. MITCHELL, OsWALD A. WEIDLICH. 

